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Rumors swirling that Chinese billionaire Robin Li (was mentioned as possible investor in AC Milan) wants to buy the club outright and install Julen Lopetegui (sacked by FC Porto this year and allegedly the current favorite to take Spain over from Vicente Del Bosque) as manager.

Not going to get my hopes up there. Seems a game of Mad Libs being played in the Spanish press.

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DonorTMB OG

PUBLISHED

14:35 21st July 2016

"Delighted to become owners of such a famous and historic Club"

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (Wolves) are delighted to confirm that a sale and purchase agreement has been signed which sees the transfer of the 100% ownership in Wolves and all its assets from Steve Morgan CBE and his Bridgemere Group to Fosun Group (Fosun) headed by Chairman Guo Guangchang.

The purchase of Wolves by Fosun has been approved and fully ratified by the English Football League (EFL) and its board of directors. The financial terms of the transaction are private and confidential between the parties.

Fosun are one of the largest investment groups in China. They have stakes in various projects worldwide, including: Club Med, Cirque du Solei, Folli Follie and Studio 8 etc. Fosun have attached great importance to UK-based investments and they currently have interests in Thomas Cook, Silver Cross, and Resolution Property.

Steve Morgan CBE steps down after nine years as Wolves’ owner, during which time the Club secured the 2008/09 Sky Bet Championship title and then spent three consecutive seasons in the Premier League for the first time in 30 years. Steve has also worked tirelessly on improving the facilities at both Molineux Stadium and the Club’s training ground which are among the best facilities in the country.

Fosun will currently have a football club board consisting of four people. Mr Jeff Shi, who led the negotiations on behalf of Fosun, will become the Club’s representative, alongside him will be Mr Sky Sun. Local businessmen and Wolves fans John Bowater and John Gough will also continue to serve as non-executive board members.

After being heavily involved in the sale of the Club to new owners, Chief Executive, Jez Moxey, has decided now is the right time to step down after 16 years’ of service to Wolves. However, Jez will remain in his role for up to three months to ensure a smooth transition. Wolves have begun the search for a new Chief Executive.

Also stepping down from the Wolves Board will be Ashley Lewis, Bridgemere Group’s Finance Director, who joined the Board when Steve Morgan resigned as Wolves Chairman in 2015.

“We are delighted to have completed the deal to become the new owners of such a famous and historic club as Wolves,” said Jeff Shi.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to Steve Morgan for taking such good care of the Club and for placing his trust in us to become the new custodians of Wolves. During our conversations Steve’s great passion and vision for the Club and Wolverhampton was very clear and we feel privileged to pick up the baton from him.

“And also to Jez Moxey for his tremendous contribution to Wolves. We are sad to see him leave, but after 16 years of loyal service we understand why he has chosen this moment as the right time to move on and we wish him well.

“We would also like to thank the hugely loyal and passionate Wolves supporters, and all the Club staff, for their patience whilst our discussions were ongoing. We hope they will be pleased with, and supportive of, our exciting plans for Wolves.

“Football is enjoying a huge growth in China and, of course, is England’s national sport. As part of our strategy, it makes perfect sense to buy a great Football Club.

“Our goal is crystal clear: we will do our very best to help take Wolves back to the Premier League as soon as possible and to stay there. We believe the Club and the fans belong at the top of English football and getting there is our first and top priority.

“However, we will continue to develop and enhance Wolves Academy and to create more and more young talent for the first team and to keep it as one of the very best in football. We also understand the importance of the Club’s role within Wolverhampton and the surrounding communities and that is something we are determined to continue.

“We are fully aware that achieving success for Wolves will not be easy. It will take hard work, resources, determination and togetherness. We will work with everyone who supports Wolves to help create a bright future for this great Club.

“We can’t wait to get started on the exciting times ahead and look forward to a long and ultimately successful ownership of Wolves.”

DonorTMB OG

Presser went about as well as anyone could've hoped this morning. The main points were:

- FOSUN looked at over 15 clubs... Settled on Wolves due to academy status, adequate stadium infrastructure, and lack of debt. The Chinese have a ton of respect for gold and black color scheme so nothing will change with colors or branding.
- Steve Morgan did not profit from the sale of the club, meaning he sold it for the 30m that he put into it. There is a promotion bonus to be paid to him, which he has said will 100% go to charities.
- 5-8 players lined up for squad strengthening. They've been vetting for weeks to whittle their list down to guys they know will come if called.
- No plans for continuing stadium redevelopment at this time. Investment is in the team in the immediate future. Shi said their level of investment will be to get whoever they want and we don't need to worry about tight purse strings.
- Jez Moxey stays on as interim CEO but will step down within 3 months, giving Fosun enough time to hire a replacement. They wanted him to stay due to shrewd transfer business and ability to stay in the black.
- Kenny Jackett stays as manager and will be allowed to try his hand at the Championship with big financial backing. First 7 games have the potential for a maximum points haul. I read it as he'll be out on his ass if he can't get it going quick.
- There were talks with Julen Lopetegui (took the Spain job) but couldn't get the purchase of the club finalized in time to make the offer real. Marco Silva is the name being floated around now as a candidate to replace Jackett if/when it goes tits up for him.

Donor

Presser went about as well as anyone could've hoped this morning. The main points were:

- FOSUN looked at over 15 clubs... Settled on Wolves due to academy status, adequate stadium infrastructure, and lack of debt. The Chinese have a ton of respect for gold and black color scheme so nothing will change with colors or branding.- Steve Morgan did not profit from the sale of the club, meaning he sold it for the 30m that he put into it. There is a promotion bonus to be paid to him, which he has said will 100% go to charities.
- 5-8 players lined up for squad strengthening. They've been vetting for weeks to whittle their list down to guys they know will come if called.
- No plans for continuing stadium redevelopment at this time. Investment is in the team in the immediate future. Shi said their level of investment will be to get whoever they want and we don't need to worry about tight purse strings.
- Jez Moxey stays on as interim CEO but will step down within 3 months, giving Fosun enough time to hire a replacement. They wanted him to stay due to shrewd transfer business and ability to stay in the black.
- Kenny Jackett stays as manager and will be allowed to try his hand at the Championship with big financial backing. First 7 games have the potential for a maximum points haul. I read it as he'll be out on his ass if he can't get it going quick.
- There were talks with Julen Lopetegui (took the Spain job) but couldn't get the purchase of the club finalized in time to make the offer real. Marco Silva is the name being floated around now as a candidate to replace Jackett if/when it goes tits up for him.

DonorTMB OG

Add in the loan for Joao Teixeira from Benfica B for the 3rd signing of the Fosun era. Andy Lonergan doesn't count for anything (technically our first signing of the window but he might not be a real person).

Being strongly linked today with David Nugent and Adam Forshaw, which I would fucking love.

We have 1 healthy senior striker with a game looming in 5 days - Niall Ennis - who will have just been handed his first senior contract. Dicko might be ready this month but not in time for Rotherham. I sincerely hope we have a striker signing up our sleeve.

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And holy fuck is Walter Zenga well-spoken. I loved the shit out of his first press conference.

Basically told the reporters they don't know what the fuck they're talking about when they asked what the deal is with his short tenures of late. He went up to 6 months without a paycheck at one of the last couple of jobs. The UAE club he managed last was a horrific situation. I'm not as worried now about the non-committal air his CV gives off. And he should be able to help the keepers immensely.

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Someone please end the Anderson Talisca transfer saga, one way or another.

We've had a 6.5m bid for Chris Martin rejected. I believe they're holding out for 8 which we'd be stupid not to match.

A front line with a combination of Nouha Dicko, Joe Mason, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, and Chris Martin would do it for me. I think that's the kind of line to get us to the Prem. Get Martin in and let's focus on shoring up the back line.

Iorfa and Hause are good enough for me. I believe the intention is to have Silvio play at LB and if Mike Williamson could ever be healthy, well baby, we'd have a stew goin.

DonorTMB OG

Prince Oniangué joins from Reims. Good scoring rate for the 3 years he's started in the top division. 17 from 94. And he's a full national for DR Congo. Hopefully this spells the end of Saville or Duracell Dave.

That gives us nearly an entirely new midfield. There's a few toys I think Zenga wants to keep, though. We're looking at a starting midfield 4 of Graham, Costa, Teixeira, and possibly Talisca. That's more than good enough for promotion. Plus Zyro, Wallace, and Price coming on late.

Anderson Talisca in a perpetual state of "signing within 48 hours". I'm torn on if he joins, does he really want to be here?

Donor

I think I have mentioned this previously but I admire your dedication to the club. Because of you I find myself checking their scores to see how they have done. Now with the new ownership hurry up and get back into the Prem so you can join that thread as well.

DonorTMB OG

There was a definite sticking point a few years ago where the ex-owner bluntly said there would be no more investment in the players, the stadium redevelopment funding ran out, and we refused to fire a lunatic that ended up taking us down from being firmly mid table in January.

But I have to say that the rebuild was fun. We slashed the wage budget, won League One in record fashion, and had 3 incredibly exciting attacking players scoring for fun.

The well ran dry last year when Sako and Afobe got poached so it kind of became the art of treading water in Championship's midtable, which seems like a wasted season. Thank goodness the CEO stuck to his guns over the financial health of the club because it made us the most attractive candidate for a takeover. We're really lucky to have owners that aren't willing to alter the history and tradition of the club.

It'd be lovely to go up at the first asking of the new owners as I think we're filling the team with a solid core that can survive the Prem and I think the funding will only increase at that level. It'd be nice to see the stadium finished and for the side effect of the economic redevelopment of Wolverhampton's city center. I'm really looking forward to a pilgrimage to the midlands in the next few years to soak it in.

DonorTMB OG

Pretty impressed with Zenga thus far. This weekend should be fairly telling as we come up against Brentford.

Can't really use the Rotherham and Burton matches as much of a barometer as we had a ton of guys making their debuts. We're settling in now and figuring out that several guys never need to see the pitch in a Wolves shirt again.

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Summer signings:
Andy Lonergan (GK) - undisclosed from Fulham - dump immediately; parting gift from Kenny Jackett
Helder Costa (W) - on loan from Benfica B - outstanding; arguably a top 5 player in the Championship
Silvio (RB) - undislosed from Atletico Madrid - worth revisiting; spent most of season hurt but showed flashes
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (ST) - $3.5m from Kaiserslautern - would be ok with keeping or selling
Joao Teixeira (CM) - on loan from Benfica - started the season brilliantly but apparently hates being here so he quickly found the bench
Prince Oniangue (CM) - undisclosed from Reims - loaned to Bastia pretty quickly; not good enough
Ola John (W) - on loan from Benfica - terminated loan; he's fucking terrible
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (LB) - on loan from Manchester United - wasted loan; feel bad for him
Paul Gladon (ST) - undisclosed from Heracles - the restaurant industry in Wolverhampton will suffer when we release him; horrendous signing
Romain Saiss (CDM) - undisclosed from Angers - make him sign a new contract; good god he can pick out a pass
Richard Stearman (CB) - on loan from Fulham - let's not revisit old players again; that was not fun
Ivan Cavaleiro (W) - $8.8m from Monaco - the talent is there; need more consistency from him

Click to expand...

I'd count this as 4 good signings out of 12. What a shitty job Jorge Mendes did for us. And Kevin Thelwell has no fucking eye for talent. We need to kick anyone and everyone to the curb that's in charge of player recruitment.